


And So the Curtain Falls

by SEMellark



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, and i also have a strong need for third year hinata and kageyama, i have some strong feelings about this show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-18 17:48:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3578412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SEMellark/pseuds/SEMellark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sound the ball makes as it slams to the ground is like music to Shouyou's ears, sweeter than any melody, any praise Tobio could ever give him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And So the Curtain Falls

The sound the ball makes as it slams to the ground is like music to Shouyou's ears, sweeter than any melody, any praise Tobio could ever give him. 

He lands on his own two feet in the aftermath, surrounded by bright lights and the roar of the crowd and the bitter smell of sweat.

That was his last freak quick with Tobio, his last high school match. It's over. The championship title is finally theirs.

The entire stadium erupts, though his own heartbeat is so loud in Shouyou's ears, it sounds like a distant hum. The truth of it all starts to seep into him, the way it did back when he was a First Year and he burst into the gym only to find himself face to face with the boy he'd once sworn to defeat at all costs. 

Shouyou wants to laugh, and he does, sounding just a  _little_ hysterical, staring down at his calloused right hand. So much has changed since then, his technique, his relationships, but never his all-consuming need to fly, to reach the summit, to hit the ball as hard as he can and feel absolutely no regrets once he comes back down.

He feels a presence to his immediate left, and Shouyou doesn't hesitate as he turns and proceeds to climb Tobio like a tree. He doesn't even care that he's team captain, that he's a retiring Third Year and has to set an example for the others. Really, the only reason he was chosen in the first place is because Yamaguchi has trouble putting his thoughts into words, and Tsukishima and Tobio are really only good at inspiring obedience and fear.

Shouyou just  _doesn't care._ He loves volleyball, and he loves winning, but he loves Tobio even more and this is just too much for Shouyou to comprehend on his own.

He half expects his boyfriend to shove him off. This isn't the first time Shouyou has jumped Tobio in his enthusiasm, and although their days of playing on a team together are now over, he expects that it won't be the last. Tobio is just too stingy sometimes, chooses to wait until they're alone to express how happy he is, to kiss Shouyou until their lips are bruised because they're _invincible_ together. 

But the only sensation Shouyou feels is the press of Tobio's arms encircling his back, hoisting him up, helping him along, and Shouyou will marvel over how strong his boyfriend has become when the euphoria dies down, if it ever does.

"We did it." Shouyou says, but he's really shouting, directly in Tobio's ear and so forceful that his voice actually cracks. "We did it, we  _won!"_

"I saw." Despite the noise level in the stadium, Shouyou knows that he didn't mishear. It's such a Tobio thing to say in a moment like this. "It only took us three years."

Shouyou laughs, arms snug around Tobio's shoulders. He knows that his former teammates are in the stands somewhere, Daichi and Suga and all the others, and he hopes that they're proud of what he and the others have done, how they've finally managed to take Karasuno High all the way to the top. Shouyou himself is insanely proud of his team and all the hard work they put in to get this far, though he's still a little sad that he'll be retiring from club activities after this.

Tobio says that the underclassmen rely on them too much and need to learn how to play without them before the school year ends, and even if he hates it, Shouyou has to agree. He's heard the First and Second Years whispering after practice when they thought no one could hear, worrying about how they'd continue to win without their over-exuberant albeit gifted captain, their genius setter, their cool and calculating middle blocker, and their ace server. 

But Shouyou has faith in them, and he hopes he can communicate that faith before he leaves them for good. He doesn't doubt that the First and Second Years will maintain Karasuno's reputation as a powerhouse after he and the other Third Years are gone. He's perfectly at ease leaving the club in their hands. He's done all he can for them now.

He sees Tsukishima approaching them from behind Tobio, eyes shining behind his glasses, although that could easily just be the lighting. The blond claps Tobio on the back, so hard Shouyou can almost feel it reverberating against his chest, and he grins at his teammate, remembering all the days of bad blood between them. Tobio and Tsukishima still bicker, of course, but nowadays, Shouyou sees actual camaraderie between them, something no one had ever expected. 

Yamaguchi isn't far behind with the rest of the team, though he's lost whatever composure he had and is sobbing profusely as he makes a desperate grab for Tsukishima, who doesn't so much as pull a face.

"We really did it, Shouyou." Tobio says suddenly, and the quality of his voice is so _off_ that Shouyou grins and shifts so his boyfriend's face is hidden in the crook of his shoulder. Shouyou has wanted this for what seems like forever, but of course he knows that Tobio has been waiting longer. And he also knows that Tobio would rather die than have anyone see him cry right now.

"Of course we did! You said you'd make us invincible, didn't you? And you _always_ keep your word." 

Tobio doesn't respond, but his trembling grip around Shouyou's back tightens. In return, Shouyou presses a kiss to Tobio's left temple where the longest parts of his dark hair are plastered to his skin with sweat, no matter the fact that they're being filmed.

And Shouyou  _swears_ he hears cat-calls from somewhere in the stands, sees a man waving his shirt in the air from the corner of his eye, and he really wishes Noya and Tanaka would learn to stop that, because they'll get an earful from Tobio and Tsukishima later, never mind Daichi and Suga. 

But for now, Shouyou is content to stay on the court a little longer, keeping his arms and legs locked tight around Tobio's shoulders and hips, surrounded on all sides by his teammates. And he can't help but wonder if a middle-school kid is watching this on TV somewhere, completely mesmerized by the sport, realizing for the first time that it doesn't matter how short you are, or how sucky you might be in the beginning, because it _is_ possible to claw your way up from the bottom.

The Little Giant taught Shouyou that, and he hopes that "Little Number Ten" will inspire someone else to be great, too. 

Shouyou throws both arms into the air and arches his back, sporting his own tears and laughing despite them, having learned over the years, among other things, that Tobio would never let him fall.

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I marathon a show in eight hours. I feel like I didn't savor it enough and I NEED CLOSURE DAMMIT!


End file.
